The Top Skaters - What Will You Be Looking For?

This is NOT A PREDICTION THREAD. It's about the skaters you love and what your are looking forward to see them do. Here's mine:

Plushenko - to get back to his great form and see if the knee is a problem.
Joubert - to see a renewed skater with a better costume.
Lambiel - to see him do the 3.5s with as much ease as he does the quads.
Lindemann - to see a more consistent skate which he can do.
Buttle - to see his new Wilson LP and a quad.
Sandhu - to just let it happen and get off my hit or miss list.
Lysacek - to see a quad and what Carroll gives him this season.
Weir - to see his new TT LP and a quad.
Griazev - to see a more complete skater.
Klimkin - Just to see him on the ice.
Li - to see if the judges give him the scores he deserves.
Othmund - to makes a statement as the new boy for 2010.

Irina - To continue the momentum with a better LP.
Sasha - Definitely to see Morosov's revamped R&J and a 3x3.
Carolina - to see the last minute of her LP with energy and a3x3xTHREE
Michelle - definitely TT's choreography, less crossovers and a 3x3.
Shizuka - to get her head together and do what she is capable of doing.
Joannie - to see Wilson's new LP and two 3x3s.
Susanna - to see more spark in the LP performance with her 3x3s.

I am really looking forward to Michelle's new program choreographed by TT. Hopefully she will actually keep the choreography in the program this season.

I can't wait to see D&Ls new FD. With the program choreographed by Wilson, and input from Wilson and Underhill, I am hoping to see their best program yet. I am also looking forward to W&L's new FD by Shanti Rushpaul.

I want to see Joannie with another great program, and a good, consistent season, peaking at Olympics and Worlds.

I'd like to see Denkove&Staviski come back and kick *** this year. I'd like to see Delobel&Shoenfelder get the respect they deserve with another beautiful program.

I'm looking forward to Sandhu finally having a competition where he excels in every phase.

I'm looking forward to Plushenko and Lambiel duking it out.

Finally, I really hope we get to see Shen&Zhao compete at Olympics and Worlds.

Irina - To continue the momentum with a better LP.
Sasha - Definitely to see Morosov's revamped R&J and a 3x3.
Carolina - to see the last minute of her LP with energy and a3x3xTHREE
Michelle - definitely TT's choreography, less crossovers and a 3x3.
Shizuka - to get her head together and do what she is capable of doing.
Joannie - to see Wilson's new LP and two 3x3s.
Susanna - to see more spark in the LP performance with her 3x3s.

All the other boys and girls: to give me a surprise.

Joe

This is not for the sensitive.

Since this is the OLYMPIC SEASON I'd like to see all the skaters step out of the cautious, "I don't wanna lose" routine and GO FOR IT. This means:

Kwan- This girl's got to do just about everything better. It sounds like she MIGHT be heading in the right direction (of course, that's listening to posters' reports.). Not only this, but she needs some sort of 3-3 if she's serious about winning the gold. And she needs to find a way to deal with the Oly pressure. It's not going to be any lighter no matter what anyone tries to say. She needs to throw out that tendency to hold back when all the chips are on the line. Look how Irina handled the pressure of being in her hometown and on top.

Slutskaya- Keep doing what you've been doing. She's currently on top, but that doesn't make things any easier for her. As they say, getting on top is the easy part, staying there is the hard part. SImply put: if she can repeat her awesome Worlds LP performance and have a decent SP to put her in position to win, she's in it, baby. It'll get her gold guaranteed unless anyone else in the top 3 has the skate of their lives. She has an illness and an altitude situation to deal with. Can she stay in shape? In fact, I'd say Irina is in the hardest position of all because everyone will be gunning for her, and all the Olympic pressure will shift to her. And, just like Kwan, she allowed it to get to her in 02.

Cohen- This skater also has work cut out for her. She not only needs to get over the competition jitters, but she needs some nice difficult moves (and throw in a 3-3 at least) to help her get some points. Ironically, Cohen is the only one at this point I see to challenge Slutskaya but she's not going to do it unless she stays upright, AND throws caution to the wind. I like the way she just went for it at 02 Olys. She fell, but she still fought through it I feel. This left her as soon as the 2003 season began. She needs to get this attitude back.

Japanese ladies- I really do think these are the dark horses. And I think it's Ando and Arakawa that are most likely to get back into the thick of things. They were off last season. And as Arakawa proved at 04 worlds, she is a worthy contender. Ando's got the moves, too- I think she's a threat as well.

Everyone else- Step it up, this is your chance. Move it or lose it, as they say.

I just want to see Michelle skate. I'm hoping she can harness the passion she has for skating and make skating magic. I'd love to see her up the technical ante to boot, blow the lid off the Code of Points and win the OGM. But mostly I know her competitive career is coming to an end and I just want to watch her skate well and with passion.

I also really want to see Mao Asada this season. She seems to have so much talent and I can't wait to see more of her skating.

And I'd like to see all the US skaters master their demons and skate their best.

Irina: Hopefully, she can maintain her drive and focus from last season. Also, I'd like to see an interesting LP. "Queen of Spades" was okay, but not a personal fave. What made that program enjoyable to watch was the way Irina performed it. I'd love to see the same level of energy and emotion (or something near that) that she displayed in Moscow. It was a great moment for her.

Sasha: Hmmm.....do all the pretty moves you are capable of and stand up! You have too much potential to constantly underperform! I want to see Sasha really connect with the music and the audience (she was making strides last season). I also want to see her skate a clean LP (I don't care if she is skating to Rummstein or Pachelbel, just give me one perfect skate in a pressure packed situation!).

Michelle: I am so excited about the TT choreography, and I also hope that she doesn't tweak it too much. But, honestly, I just want to see her skate with freedom and abandon again.....like "Aranjuez" from 03 Worlds and "Tosca" from 04 Nationals. I don't want the strain of COP to eclipse her magic. So, a program full of choreography, high level spins/footwork/spirals, etc. would be great, but not if she has to sacrifice her heart in the process. Both together would be nice, but I much prefer an empty program with loads of heart to a jam-packed one with mild or robotic enthusiasm.

And I'd like to see all the US skaters master their demons and skate their best.

I couldn't agree more, Kathy. Especially where our pairs are concerned! I'd love to see Inoue & Baldwin really have a stellar season. The same goes for Timothy Goebel. He seems to have such a big heart and a great personality. I want him to regain his form and prove to himself that he still has it. He deserves the very best.

For sandhu...all I really want is to see two clean programs....even if they have to be simplified a BIT to be executed cleanly in competition. I'd like to see Goebel in the hunt with his quads (or at least one of them) back firmly and for him to continue working on his posture and line. I would love to see Weiss look like he loves skating...never a favorite of mine, but I respect him a lot (and it sounds like he is into his music this year, so good luck to him). I would love to see Li scored fairly too...but also to continue working on his stamina so that he looks in command of his entire long program (like he could skate for 4 more minutes at the end). And I would really, really like to see Plushenko skate like a champion...and as such to really challenge Lambiel to skate clean, Weir to continue to wow us with his precision and line and get a quad, Buttle to just keep wowing us with his intricate choreography (and those difficult entrances into jumps and spins...i'm not sure I want him to have a quad if any of the other stuff gets lost, but if he can do it all...go for it!)...and now i'm forgetting people.

for the women: my biggest wish is just to see kwan skate in a way that says I'm not just a great competitor, i am a better skater than everyone else: so like Joe said: forget the crossovers...show us a triple triple (or two)...show us difficult steps into jumps and spins, show us choreography...that's what I most want to see (and don't give a hoot about placement or scores). And, just want to see all the other top contenders give it their all too...and like the men, there are just soooo many of them this year.

I really wish to see Shen and Zhao compete...my impossible wish is that they compete all season and have the skate of their lives in Torino (again, regardless of placement, just to go out with a bang)...but since this is impossible, I just wish that they be able to skate at olympics...safely...and that they just know how many huge fans they have.

I agree with all of the above, and don't have much to add, except for with Emanuel I know he is such an enormous talent, and he is capable of so much more. I'm hoping a really good sports psychologist and some solid training and grand prix performances could do that for him. He could be absolutely electrifying if he could get the quad AND the triple axel in the short. I think he may be better of without the Canadian championship going into Worlds though. Give him more of an underdog quality. Jeff helped him in that pursuit with the world medal. Also with Jeff, I am extrememly worried that the quad will cost him big time, for various reasons. I don't have the feeling that it is consistent enough to rely on in competition and I'm worried that it will come at a cost of loss of choreography and the wonderful feeling and sentiment of a completely clean program. Though I hope I am wrong, I hope that Jeff comes out and nails his quad when he needs to. I hope he withstands the pressure of being Canadian champion, and a world medalist. I also wish Joannie Rochette would get scored fairly. She was scored fairly in the long, because that skate unfortunately just wasn't very good, but I thought she should have been scored a lot higher in the short program! She had a clean short, great choreography and spirals. I was puzzled. And I know the triple triples are in her too. I'm hoping Cynthia Phaneuf will be back in it mentally as well. I know she is capable of doing better. I also hope that one of my personal sentimental favorites can pull it together and hold up and comers like Shawn Sawyer and Chris Mabee back so that he can finish of his career with a trip to the Olympics.

Emanuel: He reallizes 'hey, I had the 3rd best long program at the world champioinships' and builds on that, realizing that he CAN do it. Joanne gives him some challenging choreography (or better yet, he hires a different choreographer), and that he finally gets the mindset of 'f*** what people think or say about me. I'm going to go out there and do it, BECAUSE I CAN!' He'll realize that all the other skaters think of him as a threat, and most (including Plush and Joubert) think that if he skated to his full ability, he'd be unbeatable.

Jeff: Don't stress over the quad. Yes, it is a handy tool to have, but it's not the be all and end all of skating. The quad isn't as important now as it was in the past. Your spins, footwork, choreography and just overall skating are on a level untouched by others, and that is what you should focus on. If you focus too much on the quad, other jumps start to suffer, bringing down the whole performance. Just go out there and be yourself and be relaxed. Don't focus on the media pressure that Canada will place on you.

Plush: Just be HEALTHY!

Brian: Screw Miss France (well, not 'literally') but just get the twit out of your head and focus on your skating. You have kick *** talent (your jumps are amazing!) and you could challenge in Italy, so just get your head in the game!

I am definitely looking forward to seeing Jeff Buttle's new programs. I was completley awed by his program last season. It will be interesting to see what his now famous choreographer will come up with. Also looking forward to seeing Joannie skate well again and I hear Chris Maybee really wowed the judges. He really brought down the house last year at Canadians. Both he and Jeff skated back to back and brought some real excitement to their programs.

I don't want to sound down on Sandhu, but I find him frustrating. I would like to see him hit one out of the ball park this season.

I agree with everything in Red Dog’s post about no more holding back for all the skaters, especially the ladies. I also wish for:

1. Cathartic Kiss and Cry Moments Not just jubilation like Tara jumping on the bench or Sarah and Robin collapsing on the floor but something to top Plushenko winning in Dortmund and giving a battle cry with clenched fists, red face and eyes bulging out of the sockets like a Viking who had just sacked an entire village and killed every last woman and child.

2. Johnny on the Today Show Usually skaters (and most Olympic athletes) fail to capitalize on their mainstream opportunities, but I hope for Johnny to do something (*) worthy of appearing to talk to Katie and Matt, so he can show up in sunglasses wearing DSquared or Galliano accompanied by his dog and giving eccentric answers to their questions so begin his ascent to pop icon status.

3. Free-thinking Ladies Last season most of the ladies were overwhelmed by CoP to the extent that they put nothing of themselves into their performances, and rather relied on what their coaches added up on the CoP calculator to churn out mediocre choreography and as a result most failed to make any personal statement with their skating. Specifically, I hope to see (1) Shizuka return to diva status and intimidate others with her 3-3-2 and complex jump entrances (2) technical brilliance and streamlined artistry from Volchkova (3) a coherent program from Irina (4) continued imagination, stage presence and to-die-for costumes from Fumie.

4. Stephane’s Spins NBC should dedicate a fluff piece to the most captivating moves currently being performed in the sport by showing clips of his idol Ruh and showing him training his spins and creating new variations. NBC should dispatch a crew to Switzerland now to begin interviewing and gathering footage.
5. Retribution for Good People Many kind souls in skating have been wronged in the past and deserve happiness during this Olympic season to make up for previous oversights. I hope for (1) Savoie to end his eligible career with satisfying performances and acknowledgment from the judges (2) Zagorska/ Siudek and Shen/Zhao to overcome injuries to be able to compete (3) Savchenko/Szolkowy to medal in pairs with seamless choreography

6. Surprise Stars I wish for someone currently off the radar to make a big splash at the Olympics and upset those who are undeserving and play it safe.